In today’s world, it is almost impossible to leave the house without coming across a single advertisement. Businesses are always on the lookout to sell their products to consumers, and the best way for them to do that is by establishing their visibility in the market.
Highly-known brands are influential in shaping what society would deem as beautiful or not, and this is especially evident in ads related to women’s fashion. A perfect example would be Victoria’s Secret, a powerful company that has built its reputation in the realm of fashion. The brand has become such a household name that for many, their models have become the “epitome” of what a beautiful woman looks like.
But this proved to be problematic, as Victoria’s Secret wasn’t known for embracing diversity. Their print and runway models possessed a commonality: they were all thin. But recently, it seems like the company is becoming more open to the concept of inclusivity in its marketing. The brand has hired its first ‘curvy model’, a size-14 woman named Ali Tate-Cutler, as part of its collaboration with female-founded UK-based lingerie brand Bluebella.
Modeling the Bluebella lingerie, Cutler shared that she made history as Victoria’s Secret’s first size-14 model in an Instagram post.
“I believe I’m the first size 14 on @victoriassecret? Regardless I’m pretty stoked to work with a brand I idolized when I was a teen. Great step in the right direction for bodies,” she wrote.
Victoria’s Secret has previously employed plus-size models, however, Cutler is the first curvy model to be featured widely in the campaign images displayed in their stores.
“Size 14 is actually the average size of women in America and I do think that we need to see more of it in media and fashion because most women are that size. So, we need to be accurately represented in brands and media,” she said in an interview with E! News.
“For Victoria’s Secret I am so excited that they decided to put a size-14 woman like me on the wall. I feel like they are headed in the right direction and they are listening to their audience who have requested to see more women of diverse shapes and sizes.”
She also told the outlet that it felt “surreal” attending the launch of the collaboration and seeing her picture “on the wall next to these top supermodels that I have been looking up to since I was a little girl”.
According to Victoria’s Secret, their partnership represents the company’s principles of “self-love, self-acceptance and championing individuality”.
“That’s the main message behind their fall collection’s compelling #loveyourself campaign which celebrates the brand’s beautiful designs on diverse, empowered women,” according to the press release.
It is indeed a great step towards the right direction. Hopefully, this move by Victoria’s Secret of hiring curvy models would inspire other brands to do the same!